Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe almost landed Kevin Bacon’s ‘Footloose’ role: 'That's a real actor'

Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe were both considered for the role of Ren McCormack in "Footloose," before it ultimately went to Kevin Bacon. Playing Ren was Bacon's big break in Hollywood.

Lori Bashian is an entertainment production assistant for Fox News Digital. 

One of the stories, which Lowe also recalled on the podcast, was his audition for "Footloose." He called it "a dance audition," explaining that at "the end of the dance was a knee slide across the floor," which he really went for.

"I hit my knees and slide across the floor into a lineup of like Sherry Lansing, Dean Pitchford, Craig Zadan and Herbert Ross, and my knee explodes. Explodes! Pop! And they take me out of the soundstage on a stretcher," he recalled.